MSI MEG Z790 ACE MAX & MAG Z790 Tomahawk MAX Assessment – Upgrades All over the place!

It is no thriller that Intel goes to launch its 14th Gen Raptor Lake Refresh CPU lineup quickly and as such, motherboard distributors are doing a mushy refresh of their current product lineups & providing new Z790/B760 chipset designs that include higher I/O, VRMs, cooling capabilities and extra. As of right now, MSI has launched its next-gen Z790 MAX collection of motherboards that are basically a “maxing-out” of their unique designs and providing one thing recent to shoppers.

For right now’s evaluation, we check out MSI’s MEG Z790 ACE MAX and MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk MAX, each of that are aiming on the high-end market with costs of $699 and $329 US, respectively. We’re nonetheless a month away from the launch of the Subsequent-Gen CPUs so count on a revisit of those boards on the newer chips when they’re out there.

The Intel LGA 1700 Platform

Intel’s Raptor Lake-S desktop CPUs function help on LGA 1700 socket which can also be utilized by the Alder Lake CPUs. The Raptor Lake-S CPUs launched alongside the 700-series motherboards. You’ll be able to count on all of the top-notch specs from the Z790 motherboards with the most effective overclocking & fine-tuning capabilities.

One other attention-grabbing factor to speak in regards to the Z790 PCH is its course of node and dimensions. The Z790 PCH is predicated on the 14nm node and measures at 98mm2 which is barely bigger than the Z590 PCH featured on LGA 1200 socket motherboards.

Intel Desktop Platform Chipset Comparability

The LGA 1700 socket is right here now. The brand new socket provides extra pins to the socket and adjustments the scale fully. The brand new LGA 1700 socket provides 500 extra pin connections to the CPU, permitting for extra communication channels with the board itself and accommodating electrical pin configurations which are required to help Subsequent-Gen, thirteenth & twelfth Gen CPUs.

In order for the socket particulars, Intel has gone with an asymmetrical design for the reason that Alder Lake CPUs are not square-shaped. The most recent desktop CPUs will are available a 37.5×45.0mm bundle and are supported by the ‘V0’ socket which we all know as LGA 1700.

The socket additionally adjustments the mounting positions to a 78x78mm grid relatively than a 75x75mm grid. The Z-height has additionally modified to six.529mm in comparison with 7.31mm on the earlier LGA 12**/115* sockets.

Cooler Compatibility With LGA 1700 Socket

To make their current coolers appropriate with Intel’s Raptor Lake & Alder Lake CPU lineup, many cooling manufacturers have launched LGA 1700 improve kits which function mounting {hardware} for the brand new socket. However the Intel Raptor Lake and the Alder Lake CPU platform aren’t simply that includes a model new mounting design however the CPU dimensions themselves have modified too.

The LGA 1700 (V0) socket not solely has an asymmetrical design but additionally comes with a decrease Z-stack peak. Which means correct mounting strain is required to make full contact with the Intel Alder Lake IHS. Sure cooler producers have already been utilizing bigger chilly plates for Ryzen and Threadripper CPUs to make correct contact with the IHS however these are principally higher-end and new cooling designs. Those that are nonetheless working older AIOs with spherical chilly plates may have hassle sustaining the required strain distribution which may result in insufficient cooling efficiency.